12 Cisgender Allies to Trans Causes

While finding straight allies to LGB causes has become as easy as watching the Oscars, the roster of big-name cisgender allies to trans causes is in its infancy.

BY Parker Marie Molloy

May 12 2014 7:30 AM ET

Jill Soloway, producer, director, and writerEarlier this year, Soloway — known for her work on shows like Six Feet Under and United States of Tara — wrote the pilot to Transparent, an Amazon original series centered around a trans woman coming to terms with her identity and her three adult children. Working closely with GLAAD’s Jennifer Finney Boylan and activist and scholar Zackary Drucker, Soloway has said she intends to include a number of trans characters that will be played by trans actors as the season continues, and seems set on bringing nuance to a topic that is far too often sensationalized.

Tina Vasquez, writerEarlier this year, writer Tina Vasquez penned a lengthy feature for Bitch magazine titled, “It’s Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women.” In the feature, Vasquez profiles a number of trans individuals and highlights the ongoing battle this community faces with “gender-critical” or “trans-exclusionary” radical feminists.

Jeph Jacques, webcomic creatorIn 2012, Jacques did something simple: he introduced a trans character into his popularQuestionable Contentwebcomic. “I have to admit, I am nervous about posting this comic, because including a trans person in my cast is something I have wanted to do for years and I really, really want to do a good job of it,” Jacques wrote at the time. “One of the major themes of QC, I think, is of inclusion, and this seemed like a pretty important thing to include. I have given it a lot of thought and done a lot of research, so hopefully I won't screw up. I'll do my best, anyway.”